Police arrested around 200 people, mostly leaders and activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir, in the capital, Chittagong, Sylhet and several other districts yesterday after Jamaat-Shibir men clashed with the law enforcers and Bangladesh Chhatra League.

Police arrested seven people including a teacher and four Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinees after a locally made bomb exploded at a hostel of Brahmanbaria Residential School and College Thursday night.

Editorial

The Thursday's High Court (HC) rule on the government asking it why it should not form a high-powered enquiry body within eight days to probe the shocking incident of murder and mayhem on the Rajshahi University (RU) campus on Tuesday last is a timely and hands-on move on the part of the judiciary.

The prime minister's admonition to Bangladeshi workers in Kuwait that they must follow the laws of the country in which they are working and assurance that overseas law breakers could not seek safe haven at home must have gone some way towards reassuring her hosts that she is intent on a mutually advantageous relationship between Bangladesh and Kuwait.

I came to Dhaka in February, 1950, exactly sixty years ago. At that time, Dacca, as it was then known, was a small town of about one hundred and seventy thousand people. Limited to a large extent to the southern tract bordering the river Buriganga, its outer limit included the Dhaka University campus and the lush green Ramna Park. There was very little motorized vehicular traffic and negligible pollution. There were also designated public toilets in different parts of the city -- Narinda, Wari, Gopibagh, Ganderia, Shamibagh, Islampur, Chawk Bazar and Nawabpur and other facilities that included an effective emergency fire service. There was also steady supply of water in the pipelines and road side hydrants.

THE developing countries have in parochialism a menace which disrupts normal life. A small number of people take law into their hands and whip up frenzy by an appeal to divisive and communal sentiments. They not only mar the rhythm of development but also weaken the nation's cohesion.

Sports

Serbian coach Zoran Djordjevic skipped conducting the training of the national footballers for a second successive day though the booters have been gearing up for the AFC Challenge Cup finals in line with the training that he had outlined before the South Asian Games.

West Indies had their best performance of the series cut short by the weather as they were allowed six balls in their chase before the third ODI was washed out. The desperate tourists, who now have to win the final two matches to level the five-game contest, were hopeful of victory after Ravi Rampaul's 4 for 61 restricted Australia to 225.

Metropolitan

Economic Affairs Adviser to Prime Minister Mashiur Rahman said an ill-motivated force is engaged in hatching a conspiracy to create anarchic situation across the country through using violence one after another.

Maj (retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed, vice chairman of the main opposition BNP, yesterday demanded holding of by-election in Bhola-3 constituency among the 'three valid candidates' who contested the December 2008 general election.

As much as 81 percent of the country's blood transfusion centres do not have any licences or follow the safe blood transfusion guidelines, according to a study conducted by Bangladesh Health Watch (BHW).

Viola Vitalis, a Bangladeshi company, has developed Arsenicure, an ointment for treatment of external symptoms, and Ars-detox, a capsule formulation to neutralise the accumulated arsenic inside the body.

Two suicide bombers struck outside a police complex in northwestern Pakistan, killing 15 people and underscoring the relentless militant threat despite army operations and US missile strikes against al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) yesterday rejected the terms of reference (ToR) announced by the Union Government for the five member Justice BN Srikrishna committee and asked all its elected representatives to resign in protest against Centre's betrayal.

In order to resolve the long pending water issues between them, India and Pakistan have agreed on a 'roadmap' and decided to hold two additional meetings, besides a routine meeting due in May, over the next six months.

Cinemas in the Indian city of Mumbai scaled back the release yesterday of top actor Shah Rukh Khan's new film, in the face of violent threats from right-wing Hindus locked in a row with the Bollywood star.

Iran's supreme leader praised the mass turnout at the government-backed rally marking the 1979 Islamic Revolution and warned the West to stop putting obstacles in his country's path, state Press TV reported Friday.

Russian forces have killed 20 rebels in two days during an ongoing "counter-terrorism operation" in the Caucasus region of Ingushetia near the border with Chechnya, the FSB security service said Friday.

Featuring 12 outstanding documentaries from South Asian countries, a three-day film festival titled "Travelling Film South Asia 2010" ends today at the Shawkat Osman Auditorium, Central Public Library, Shahbagh. The festival began on February 11 with an aim to highlight contemporary South Asian issues through films. Beginning, a creative studio that supports film production and communication design, in association with South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) and Manusher Jonno Foundation, is the organiser of the event. Bangladeshi filmmaker Yasmine Kabir's "The Last Rites" was the opening film of the festival.

Noted reciter Bhaswar Banerjee is of the opinion that the month-long 'Amar Ekushey Book Fair' is a great chance for young reciters to be introduced to new poems. He thinks that the mela also offers publications for those who are associated with performing arts such as theatre.

National Film Awards for the year 2008 were announced on February 11. An eleven-member jury, chaired by the additional secretary to the Ministry of Information, selected the winners in different categories, says a press release.

OP-ED

With the tragic death of Abubakar Siddique, a fifth semester meritorious student of Islamic History and Culture Department of Dhaka University on February 3 last after sustaining a serious head injury by some solid object thrown in his room at A. F. Rahman Hall, the ominous signal of the slide to disorder and violence in the campuses of the universities in consequence of intra or inter party clashes has surfaced again. Abubaker was killed as a sequel to clashes between rival groups of Chhatra League in the AF Rahman Hall of Dhaka University and two days after this killing, Faruk Hossain, an activist of the Chhatra League in Rajshahi University fell victim to Islamic Chhatra Shibir barbarity. With the grisly killing of Abubakar and Faruk Hossain the good days their poor parents were looking forward to, have been dashed to ground.

The almost unbearable traffic situation in Dhaka metropolitan area has engaged the attention of people of all classes and vocations. This has been natural as the socio-economic costs of traffic disorder have been too high to be ignored. While the statistics that graphically depict the harm caused to the economy and the tragedy in terms of loss of human lives serve useful purpose, the important considerations at this time are the remedial measures.

The traffic jam recently in Dhaka painfully surpasses all that obtains in other mega cities, with too many vehicles, many with inadequate road networks, some with narrow roads except the major roads, particularly Manila and Bangkok. All the major European and American cities and Tokyo in Asia have efficient underground metro which has made their traffic situation easier than in other cities. The traffic madness in Manila and Bangkok was worse during the pre-under ground metro up to eighties.

Environment

The conflict between development and environment still remains unresolved. Industrial revolution in the 1780s, Green revolution in the 1960s gave great prosperity to humankind but snatched away many things of importance and in some cases caused irreversible damages. England first had the industrial revolution and Edwin Chadwick in 1842, 70 years after the industrial revolution submitted the world's first famous report on water pollution to the British Parliament. Following the start of Green revolution, Silent Spring published by Ms. Rachel Carson indicated the toxicity of insecticides such as DDT in 1962.

Climate change signifies the deforestation issue as a major development challenge. FAO estimates that 13 million hectares of the world's forests are disappearing annually, and that accounts for 20 per cent of all global greenhouse gas emissions. If deforestation continues at the present rate then the tropical forests may be lost by 2050. This is likely to be true, but so far no international treaty has provided any financial incentive for reduction of deforestation and degradation of the ecosystem in the tropics, except the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which allows investment from developed countries to compensate for their greenhouse gas emissions through forestry schemes for developing countries.

Literature

When Omar Khayyam wrote, "I desire a little ruby wine and a book of verses, just enough to keep me alive, and half a loaf is needful" in the eleventh century, he was pretty convinced that reading was one of the most important aspects in a person's happiness. After all these years, the appeal of books and reading them has remained the same. A good work of fiction or a thought-provoking poem is capable of leaving a lifetime impact on people's minds. It won't be an overstatement to say that Khayyam left some perfect lines for book lovers to apply to their thoughts on literature.

DR Maniruzzaman, a veteran linguist of the country, turns 70 on 15 February. A university professor, essayist, poet, folklorist and administrator, Dr Maniruzzaman has served at many institutions and performed many duties in fifty years of his working life. He has 18 books to his credit while eight other books edited by him have been received with acclaim.

WHAT happens if one day you are caught cheating on your Valentine; what happens even if the heart is broken into a thousand pieces? Does it really matter? After a bomb blast, trees are uprooted; buildings blown sky high; and sounds of window panes breaking are heard from afar. But have you ever heard a heart break? Buildings are reconstructed with improved looks; trees are replanted with imported saplings; but what happens to the broken heart? The crevice never heals!

Palliative care is an integrated approach of treatment for terminally ill patients that improves their quality of life through lowering sufferings and relief of pain. But it is not just only the treatment of pain and disease related symptoms. It involves comprehensive care with physical improvement as well as psychological council.

Although Bangladesh has made a commendable progress in control of leprosy, the disease still poses a considerable public health threat in certain areas. People with leprosy are cured significantly with successful medical treatment. But the stigma and social isolation becomes a major concern for thousands of people who live with permanent disfigurements caused by the disease. They face more extensive social and psychological adverse impacts than many people consider. But the problem is frequently overlooked and neglected.

Since the detection of HIV virus in 1983, scientists and researchers are trying hard to invent and explore effective weapons to fight with the deadly disease. AIDS takes away millions of lives as there is no specific treatment for cure or vaccine to prevent transmission of HIV. In quest to combat HIV/AIDS, a recent research has revealed breakthrough findings to protect body from infection.

About 1 in every 600 children develops cancer before they reach the age 15. The cause behind childhood cancer is still relatively little known. But the overall cure rate for childhood cancer has significantly improved over the last 2 decades in association with clinical trials and the development of new treatments.

With the advent of Valentine’s Day on this Sunday, millions of people are planning to give special gifts to their beloved. People sent flowers, red hearts, anonymous cards and offer a candle-lit dinner to surprise their valentines. On this Valentine’s day, you can make an exception by giving the greatest gift — a healthy heart that lasts forever. With little changes in your lifestyle that keep your heart healthy you can offer the big gift.

Strategic Issues

PRESIDENT Obama could not resist blaming his predecessor for a lot of the current mishaps to shore up his declining approval rating. In his state of the union address on January 27th , his second since becoming President and given on completion of his first year in office, he said early in his address: “one year ago, I took office amid two wars, an economy devastated by recession, a financial system on the verge of collapse and a government deeply in debt.” He said that although the worst was over, deep problems remained with job loss being the most serious where 1 in every 10 Americans was unemployed.

SRI Lanka is known to pride itself as a democratic country since it achieved its independence in1948. But the latest Presidential election on January 26 and President's post-election actions have raised grave doubts in many quarters that the country is heading towards an authoritarian government. Opposition leaders are severely disappointed to witness such dramatic anti-democratic actions.

THE US Army has destroyed more than 70-percent of its stockpiles of chemical weapons some dating as far back as to the World War I era as part of an elaborate, decades-long process slated to be largely completed by 2012, service officials said.

A small, experimental jet intended to demonstrate a UAV's ability to operate off aircraft carriers just might see operational action, according to two top US Navy officials. The aircraft is the X-47B, being developed by Northrop Grumman under the Navy Unmanned Combat Air System (N-UCAS) program. Roughly $2 billion has been added by the Pentagon over the next five years to give the program a major boost. Most of that money, said Rear Adm. Bill Burke, was at the behest of the new Quadrennial Defence Review (QDR).

Iran started on Monday production of two domestically-developed unmanned aerial vehicles capable of delivering high-precision bombing strikes and performing reconnaissance missions, the Fars news agency said. Iran unveiled the drones, dubbed Ra'd (Thunder) and Nazir (Harbinger), at a plant in the northern province of Mazandaran.

Star Books Review

HEIDI Holland subtitles her otherwise revealing work on Robert Mugabe as 'the untold story of a freedom fighter who became a tyrant.' That, if you remember, is how the West has portrayed the president of Zimbabwe for the past many years. To be sure, Mugabe has himself provided his critics with the ammunition to fire away at him. His increasing intolerance of dissent, his refusal to accept what was perceived to be a clear victory not long ago at the presidential election for Morgan Tsangvirai and his condoning of a land grab by his followers (who called themselves freedom fighters) have in a big way tarnished his reputation worldwide but especially in the West. Even so, Holland's assessment of the man who has led Zimbabwe since it achieved freedom in 1980 through the Lancaster House agreement reached the previous year appears to be directed at discovering as many signs of the 'monstrosity' Mugabe has become over the years.

How many times has the Romeo and Juliet story been retold? Having asked that question, I'm not certain that Eritrean writer Sulaiman Addonia had Shakespeare in mind when he wrote his evocative story of two star-crossed lovers, not in Eritrea but in Saudi Arabia. However, the publishers of The Consequences of Love highlight the connection to a story that depicts the near impossibility of love in such a stultifying and repressive country. The young lovers, Naser and Fiore, have Eritrean parentage, but the obstacle they encounter as foreigners attempting to fulfill their love is not familial but religious: fundamentalism.